West Cross councillors Mark Child and Des Thomas have welcomed legislation to end tenants’ right to buy council homes in Wales.

That legislation has been approved by the Welsh Assembly Government with the bill going forward for Royal Assent to become law. A ban is due to come in before May 2021.

Around 139,000 Welsh council and housing association homes have been sold under Right to Buy since 1980.
Since then the social housing stock has fallen by 45% and Labour pledged to end the policy at the 2016 assembly election to ease housing shortages.

With West Cross an area where a lack of affordable housing is a problem Cllrs Child and Thomas are fully behind the ban.

“The single biggest issue we deal with in our surgeries is the lack of affordable homes,” said Cllr Child.

“People who grow up here and have all kinds of support from family and friends cannot afford to buy and there is nowhere for social rent. This is causing overcrowding, family break up and stress.

“We need to at least preserve all the social housing we have, and add more whenever there is a chance.”

Cllr Thomas added” “So many of the houses the council built have been bought under the Tory right to buy scheme, and none built to replace them that now there is a serious shortage.

“With many of those bought now being rented privately at inflated prices there simply aren’t enough left to meet the need that has always been there. I am delighted that no more will be sold and look forward to the day when the council can build some more”

Right to Buy has already been suspended in Swansea as well as Anglesey, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, Denbighshire and Flintshire under existing powers.